2,550 New Positive Cases and 4 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES,CA, April 29 – Today, Los Angeles Department of Public Health reported 4 additional deaths and 2,550 new positive cases of COVID-19. Of the 4 new deaths reported today, three were between the ages of 65-79, and one person was over the aged 80 years or older. Of the 4 newly reported deaths, all had underlying health conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 31,959.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,872,203 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 1.8%.

There are 253 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,847,700 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.

With Los Angeles County experiencing a high rate of transmission and cases steadily rising, Public Health encourages residents to use caution to avoid getting infected with COVID and transmitting it to others.

Public Health continues to monitor community-wide and sector-specific indicators for early alerts that transmission and risk may be increasing. This week, although all of the County’s Early Alert Signals are of Low Concern except for the percentage of specimens sequenced that are identified as a new variant or subvariant of concern, many metrics are trending in the wrong direction.

The highly contagious Omicron BA.2 subvariant is now identified in 88% of recent LA County samples – a slight increase from the prior week. Nationally, the BA.2 subvariant is the predominant lineage, although there is increasing circulation of a newly identified sub-lineage strain: BA.2.12.1. For the week ending April 2, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that BA.2 accounted for 68% of sequenced specimens in the U.S., with BA.2.12.1 accounting for approximately 29% of sequenced samples for that week. The BA.2.12.1 sublineage is also estimated to be 20-30% more transmissible than BA.2, and it could quickly become the nation’s dominant strain.

In Los Angeles County, 7% of sequenced specimens were identified as BA.2.12.1 for the week ending April 9, up from 3% for the prior seven-day period. The California Department of Public Health, through modeling estimates, anticipates that BA.2.12.1 will account for 50% of positive cases in California within a few days.

Increasing concentrations of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater across LA County indicate rising community transmission. Public Health is monitoring wastewater concentration for four sewer systems across the County. At three sewer systems: the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, Joint Water Pollution Control Plant; the Los Angeles City Sanitation and Environment Agency; and the Los Angeles County Sanitation District’s Lancaster sewer system, there’s been a steady rise in average wastewater SARS-CoV-2 concentration. Las Virgenes Municipal Water Districts, whose wastewater surveillance covers part of the West Valley near the Ventura County border, has not recently seen a steady increase.

Outbreaks in congregate living situations, such as Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) and among People Experiencing Homelessness, can signal that action is needed to protect staff and residents, many of whom may be particularly vulnerable to severe COVID-19 illness. While not yet a cause for significant concern , outbreaks at SNFs and sites serving People Experiencing Homelessness, have recently started to rise. For the latest seven-day reporting period ending April 26, there were six new outbreaks opened in Skilled Nursing Facilities, and 10 new outbreaks at sites serving People Experiencing Homelessness, nine of which are in sheltered environments.

This week, Public Health has seen a doubling of reports from worksites with clusters of cases when compared to the prior week. Among the 82 cluster reports received between April 20 and April 26, the top three sectors represented were Manufacturing, Retail Trade, and Information, which together accounted for 55% of total cluster reports. Among subsectors, the top four industries were Food and Beverage Stores, Electronics and Appliance Stores, Transportation Equipment Manufacturing, and Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries.

TK-12 schools are also experiencing small increases in outbreaks. For the seven-day period ending April 19, there were six new classroom outbreaks opened, all in elementary schools. This is double the number opened the prior week and is nearing the threshold for increased concern, which is eight new classroom-based outbreaks opened in the past seven days.

“I send my deepest sympathies and wishes of peace and comfort to the many families who have lost a loved one from COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “During this period of high transmission and the potential for more infectious variants, one of the best and easiest safety measures is to wear a well-fitting, high filtration mask or respirator when indoors around others. This is especially true if someone is at higher risk for severe illness, or they live or they work with someone who is at elevated risk. The fact is that when people wear a well-fitting mask or respirator, they protect themselves and those around them. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have all had to make choices about how to best protect ourselves and others from COVID-19. With cases on the rise, the potential for more contagious variants, and lots of opportunities to be exposed, this is a great time to make a choice to get vaccinated or boosted and to wear a mask or respirator when indoors around others.”